The International Journal of Indian Psychology: Volume: 01 | Issue: 03 | ISSN 2348-5396 Mental Health among Married and Unmarried Women Alpesh B. Kotar* Abstract The main purpose of this research was to find out the main difference between married and unmarried women‟s mental health. The total sample consists of 60 women (30 married and 30 unmarried women). Sample was taken from Bhavnagar city. Scale was use for data collection is mental health scale by Dr. A. K. Shreevastav and Dr. Jagdish (1983). Data was analyzed by „t‟ test. Result show, there is significant difference between the married and unmarried women. Introduction The present time is an era of Science and Technology, which extends many more facilities to mankind. But today the quantum of mental tension has increased. God has granted body and mind to mankind. A human being consumes good food to maintain the body in good condition. As the body remains healthy, similarly the mind should also remain healthy. Hence, man should perform mental exercise. The mankind has to continuously struggle because of unemployment, corruption and other problems in present times, which affects his mental health. Many problems arise during the life of man, but he should face them, then only he is called healthy by mind. Just like physical health of an individual is good, similarly his mental health should also be good. More recently, the concept of mental health has received added significance because of changing societal complexity and global problems. Traditionally, the absence of negative mental states such as depression and anxiety present a picture of mental health, with the emergence of health Psychology, Psychologists, have indicated presence of positive aspects like achievement, personal competence autonomy etc as more important criteria of mental health. Involvement is a central life interest. Show according to Cochin. “Positive Mental Health is the key of person‟s cohesive development.” “Mental health is the adjustment of human being to the world and to each other with a maximum of effectiveness and happiness” Menninger (1945) “Mental health includes precautionary steps to prevent mental illness, and though growth can be seen in mental health” Walter.J.Coville *Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Nandkunvarba Mahila Arts College, Bhavnagar © 2014 www.ijip.in April – June 2014 161 | P a g e The International Journal of Indian Psychology: Volume: 01 | Issue: 03 | ISSN 2348-5396 “In individual view or societal view or in any kind of behavioral growth which requires a great strength to solve the problem is mental health” Hadley Aims of the study The main aims of the present study are as under; To study the mental health among the married and unmarried women. Hypothesis There is no significant difference between in mental health of the married and unmarried women. Research Methodology Variables (1) (2) Independent Variables (1) Married women (2) Unmarried women Dependent Variables: (1) Mental Heal Sample Sample in this study consisted of 60 subjects having 30 married and 30 unmarried women from Bhavnagar city. Tools Used The following tools were used in the present study; (1) Personal Data Sheet A personal data sheet developed by the investigator was used to collect information about types of marriage states. (2) Mental Health Scale Mental health questionnaire by A.K. Shreevastav and Dr. Jagdish (1983) was used for data collection. This scale is reliability of 0.75 and validity of 0.54. © 2014 www.ijip.in April – June 2014 162 | P a g e The International Journal of Indian Psychology: Volume: 01 | Issue: 03 | ISSN 2348-5396 Statistical Analysis In this study„t‟ test was used for statistical analysis. Result and Discussion Showing the mean difference between the two groups as married and unmarried women in terms of their mental health. Variable Group N Mean SD Mental (1) Married 30 123.37 20.38 Health (2) Unmarried 30 118.10 14.93 T Significant 5.27* 0.01 *P<0.01 The above table shows the mean difference between two groups in terms of mental health. The mean for the married women is 123.37 and SD 20.38, as well as the mean of Unmarried women is 118.10 and SD 14.93. The obtained ‟t‟ is 5.27, that is significant at 0.01 level. Hence it is concluded that there is significant difference between married and unmarried women in terms of their mental health. Since the high score of mental health indicates good mental health, married women show good mental health than unmarried women. This result rejected the hypothesis that “there is no significant difference between the mental health of the married and unmarried women”. Conclusion There is significant mean difference between the mental health of the married and unmarried women. Reference Basu, S. “mental health concerns for Indian women 2004 India Bhatt.D.J. (1992). Mental health inventory, department of Psychology saurashtra university, Rajkot. Bollou, M. and Gabalar, N.W. (1985). Feminist position on mental health. Springfield, IL: Charles c Thomas. Davar, B.V. (1999). Mental health of Indian women: APA feminist agenda New Delhi, sage. Denier, E. (1984). Subjective well-being Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542-575. © 2014 www.ijip.in April – June 2014 163 | P a g e The International Journal of Indian Psychology: Volume: 01 | Issue: 03 | ISSN 2348-5396 Mohan R. (1993). „Three shifts Rotation and worker‟s mental health‟, Indian journal of clinical Psychology, vol.10, PP. 369-72. Raju, M.V.R, “Health Psychology & Counseling”, 1 st edition-2009, Discovery publishing house Pvt. CTD. New Delhi, page no.33. Srivastva, S.K.1997, "developing Human Relation and Ethnic Understanding." Proceeding of the 2nd ASIAN and 33rd IAAP International Conference 26-28 February. © 2014 www.ijip.in April – June 2014 164 | P a g e